


Foundlings

by mindfluff



Series: Cut & Run October Insanity [1]
Category: Cut & Run - Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Genre: Cats, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-10 14:53:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20853593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mindfluff/pseuds/mindfluff
Summary: Day 1 of theCut & Run Octoberprompt list - Cat.





	Foundlings

Zane listened to the rain pounding on the front stoop as he tried to focus on the store’s paperwork. He was really waiting for Ty to get back with lunch so they could argue about closing the store early for the day. There was no foot traffic on a rainy Wednesday in November, so Zane had no problem closing up. Ty, on the other hand, insisted the store needed to stay open because “the hours are on the door Zane, people depend on that to be right.”

It was not how Zane had expected closing early arguments to go.

A few minutes later, he heard the back door to the bookstore open and looked up to see Cricket heading to the back room. It was too soon for him to be back with food, but he heard his husband’s voice crooning to the cat and chuckled. Even with the hearing aids, he couldn’t hear exactly what Ty was saying, but he could tell when Ty’s voice went from his typical cat greeting, to something quieter and more furtive. 

That tone of voice never boded well for him, and since the bookstore was devoid of customers at the moment, he left his post and headed to the back room. He stopped cold when he reached the open doorway however. His husband had his back to the door, and was crooning to something on the little break table, Cricket in her usual spot on his broad shoulders. A quick look around found Jiminy perched high up on a shelf, intently watching whatever Ty was doing.

“There you,” Ty said softly. “Nice and dry and warm. We’ll get you some food in a minute there buddy.” 

Zane heard a small hissing noise and as Ty threw a damp hand towel over his shifted enough to reveal a tiny black kitten, all puffed up in anger and hissing ineffectually at being handled. Zane cleared his throat to alert Ty that he’d been caught.

Ty slid back in front of the kitten, a slight blush staining his cheeks, “Hey Lonestar.”

“Ty, please tell me you don’t have another cat,” Zane said.

“I do not have another cat,” Ty repeated dutifully.

“Then what exactly is on the table?”

“It’s not a cat,” Ty protested.

“What would you call it then?” Zane asked, stalking closer to Ty and the not-cat on the table.

Ty moved out of the way and scooped up the kitten in both hands, nuzzling it close to his face in spite of its angry noises. “Its not a cat, I swear. It’s… a kitten, Zane. A poor defenseless kitten.” 

Zane could see Ty shifting from wheedling empathy to righteous fury as he spoke. An angry Ty was a stunning Ty, and it was even better when Ty wasn’t angry at him.

“I mean, look at it Zane!” Ty cried, shoving the kitten cradled in his hands closer to Zane. “Its not old enough to be on its own, and someone abandoned it in the fucking rain! What was I supposed to do, leave it in the alley to die from exposure? You can’t ask me to do that Lonestar, hell, you can’t tell me  you wouldn’t have picked it up.”

Zane reached out and gently took the tiny hissing animal from Ty’s grasp, cupping it gently in his own hands, before leaning in the give Ty a quick kiss. “No, I wouldn’t expect you to leave it there, and I wouldn’t have either.” He gave his husband another quick kiss. “The problem is that you’re going to want to keep it.”

“Well, I mean,” Ty stuttered. “Jiminy and Cricket make good bookstore cats, but they’re not kittens anymore.”

“No they aren’t,” Zane replied patiently, absently stroking the tiny ball of fuzz. “And this one won’t be for long either. You can’t get a new kitten every time one of them grows up.”

Ty grinned and looked pointedly at the kitten who was now curled up and sound asleep in Zane’s hand. “I didn’t get a new cat, you did,” with a jerk of his chin in Zane’s direction. “That’s the first time I’ve heard it do something other than hiss since I picked it up.”

Zane huffed and looked at the kitten curled in his hand, purring contentedly. He stared at it for a beat, and then glared at Ty. “Fine, but I’m naming it.”

Ty chuckled and plucked Cricket off his shoulder, holding her in his arms like a baby. “Whatever you say Lonestar.”

Zane carefully maneuvered the kitten in his hand so he could check its sex, and grinned evilly at his husband when he found it to be male. 

“How about you go back out and get both us and Catticus Finch something to eat.”

  


**Author's Note:**

> If you like the Cut & Run/Sidewinder series and need more people to flail with, come join us on [Discord.](https://discord.gg/ZDStWjM)


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